Boardwalk, Swan Lake Nature Reserve, Horse
Ravine, Lemmon Valley, Reno (7/31/18)
I visited the SLNR this morning in the
hopes of encountering shorebird
migrants--there's currently lots of
suitable habit for them there--but
had no luck at all, the only shorebirds
being smattering of the local breeders
(Killdeer--just one--and a couple of stilts).
But my luck wasn't all bad. As I walked
along the path leading to the boardwalk,
an American Bittern flew up from the
marshy area near the end of the path,
at the NE corner of the iron bridge
crossing the effluent stream at that
point. When I reached the marshy area, 2
juvenile Soras were probing the mud
in the open stretch between stands of
tules and cattails. As I stood & then sat
there, more Soras and a couple of
Virginia Rails emerged from the cattails
and tules with, on several occasions,
both Virginias and no less than 7
Soras being in the open at once. As
far as I could tell, there was only one
adult Sora, the others all being juveniles.
Of the 2 Virginias, one was a juvenile,
the other possibly an adult (though I
never saw it well enough to be sure on
this point).
All in all, a good few hours birding--
Photos--
https://www.flickr.com/photos/fugl/42864385445/in/photostream/
(bittern)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/fugl/43726617452/in/photostream/
(Sora)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/fugl/29904014838/in/photostream/
(Virginia Rail)
--Fred Petersen, Reno